ABSTRACT
The apolipoprotein (apo) E gene is located on chromosome 19 (Olaisen et al., 1982; Das et al., 1985), where it is closely linked to the genes for apoC-I, pseudo-apoC-I, apoC-II, and apoC-IV (Jackson et al., 1984; Lauer et al., 1988; Allan et al., 1995). The apoE gene is 3.7kb in length and contains four exons (Das et al., 1985; Paik et al., 1985) that code for an mRNA of 1163 nucleotides (McLeans et al., 1984; Zannis et al., 1984). The primary translation product of apoE mRNA comprises 317 amino acids, with 18 amino acids serving as a signal peptide at its amino terminus. Thus, the mature apoE is secreted as a 299-amino acid protein with a molecular weight of 34,200.
